Today In History

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October 4 1920, the Canadian Air Force began its first cross-country flight. Wing Commander Robert
Leckie flew from Halifax to Winnipeg, arriving October 11th. From there, Air Commodore A.K. Tylee
flew to Vancouver with a series of three pilots, arriving October 17th. The flight time for the 55-hundred-
kilometre trip was 45 hours, as opposed to 132 hours by rail.

October 3 1987, Canada and the United States reached a free-trade agreement just before a U-S
deadline for completing negotiations. The pact called for the elimination of all cross-border trade tariffs
within 10 years and the establishment of a common energy market in petroleum, gas, uranium and
hydroelectricity. The agreement began taking effect in 1989.

October 2 1895, much of the far northern territory of Canada was formed into the districts of
Mackenzie, Yukon, Ungava and Franklin and placed under control of the Regina government. Yukon
became a territory in 1897. The remaining area was divided into the districts of Mackenzie, Keewatin and
Franklin in 1918.

October 1 1986, for the first time, M-P's voted via secret ballot for a Commons Speaker. The vote was
won after 11 ballots by Tory M-P John Fraser. He had earlier been forced to resign as Fisheries Minister
because of the ìtainted tunaí scandal.

September 30 1993, Canada's Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny a Victoria woman's bid for a doctor-
assisted suicide. The high court ruled Criminal Code sanctions against assisting in a suicide did not
infringe on the rights of Sue Rodriguez. The following February, Rodriguez -- who suffered from Lou
Gehrig's disease -- committed suicide with the help of an unidentified doctor.

September 29 1988, Canadian swimmer Carolyn Waldo won a gold medal in synchronized swimming at
the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Two days later she won a gold medal in the duet competition,
becoming the first Canadian woman to win two golds at a summer Olympics.

September 27 1990, the Oka crisis ended when Mohawk Warriors laid down their guns after a 78-day
standoff with Quebec police and armed forces. The standoff began July 11th when police raided a
Mohawk barricade set up to protest the expansion of a golf course onto land claimed by the natives. It
ended, as it began, with violence. Unarmed Mohawks and Warriors got into wild scuffles with police and
soldiers. By the end, army officials had taken 34 men, 16 women and six children into custody.

September 25 1952, six boxes of gold bullion worth 215-thousand dollars were stolen from an unguarded
building at Toronto International Airport. The gold, awaiting shipment to Montreal, was never found -- but
investigations indicated it had been flown to New York City in a private aircraft. It was believed to have
been smuggled to Hong Kong and then to China.

September 23 1862, U-S President Lincoln made the preliminary emancipation proclamation for the freeing of black slaves.

September 22 1911, the federal Conservatives under Robert Borden ousted Wilfred
Laurier's Liberals in a hotly-contested election, winning 133 of the 221 seats. The key
issue was free trade with the U-S, which the Liberals supported. More than 75 years
later, a free-trade agreement with the United States was ratified after the Conservative
government of Brian Mulroney retained power in a divisive election battle over the same
issue.

September 21 1867, John A. MacDonald's Tories won the country's first general
election. He took office on July 1st, 1867. MacDonald was the dominant creative mind
which produced the British North America Act and the union of the provinces which
became Canada. As the country's first prime minister, he oversaw the expansion of of
the Dominion from sea to sea.

September 20 1867, John A. MacDonald's Tories won the country's first general
election. He took office on July 1st, 1867. MacDonald was the dominant creative mind
which produced the British North America Act and the union of the provinces which
became Canada. As the country's first prime minister, he oversaw the expansion of of
the Dominion from sea to sea.

September 19 1988, the American Senate ratified the Canada-U-S Free Trade
Agreement by a vote of 83-9. The vote marked the last step in the American legislative
approval process. The agreement, aimed at eliminating trade barriers, began taking
effect the following January.

September 18 1875, the Supreme Court of Canada was organized. The court held its
first session in 1876. But it wasn't until 1947 that the British Privy Council agreed the
Supreme Court of Canada was to be the court of final appeal in Canada. The change
became official in 1949.

September 17 1949, the Canada Steamship Lines passenger vessel ìNoronicí was
destroyed by fire at its dock in Toronto. The ship was the largest Canadian passenger
vessel ever placed in service on the Great Lakes. The fire broke out shortly after
midnight when most of those aboard were asleep. Most of the 130 people who died
were Americans.

September 16 1773, the ship "Hector" arrived at Brown's Point -- near Pictou, Nova Scotia -- with
182 Scottish Highlanders aboard. They started a wave of immigration which, following
the expulsion of thousands of Acadians, made the Scots the predominant ethnic group
in Nova Scotia.

September 15 1993, a compensation plan was announced for people who contracted
H-I-V through tainted blood products before Canadian officials started screening blood
for the AIDS virus. The compensation plan was announced by most provinces and both
territories. They joined Nova Scotia and Quebec, which had announced their own
compensation packages earlier. The following day, the federal government announced
an inquiry would be held to recommend how to reform the blood system to make it more
efficient and safer

September 14 1752, the British Empire and its colonies in America officially adopted the
Gregorian calendar. The calendar was devised by Pope Gregory the 13th in 1582. It
had been enforced by papal edict in all Catholic countries for 170 years.

September 13 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization -- bitter enemies
for three decades -- signed their historic peace accord in Washington. The accord
called for mutual recognition and offered limited Palestinian self-determination.
American President Bill Clinton called it a great occasion of history of hope.

September 12 1504, Christopher Columbus sailed from Hispaniola in the West Indies
for Spain, to end his fourth and last voyage to the New World. The great adventurer
died after a long illness in 1506. In 1542, his remains were exhumed in Seville and
taken back to Hispaniola. They are buried in the cathedral at Santo Domingo, capital of
the Dominican Republic.

September 11 1956, Canadian war hero Billy Bishop died in Palm Beach, Florida at the
age of 62. Bishop was the top scoring Canadian and Imperial ace of the First World
War, credited with shooting down 72 German aircraft. He was the first Canadian airman
to win a Victoria Cross.

September 10 1755, England banished five-thousand Acadians from Nova Scotia. The
Acadians were deported for refusing to swear allegiance to the British -- but the move
was also intended to boost the British presence in the region.

September 9 1954, 16-year-old Marilyn Bell of Toronto became the first person to swim across Lake
Ontario. The feat captured the imagination of the country. Her gruelling swim covered 51 kilometres from
Youngstown, New York to Toronto's waterfront. The public was charmed by the intelligence and modesty
of Bell, who left the spotlight as quickly as she had entered it.

September 8 1760, Montreal passed from French to British control. A force of 20-thousand British
soldiers had surrounded the city the day before and the French position was hopeless. The governor agreed
to surrender, provided the French soldiers were allowed to march out of the city with their guns and flags.
The request was refused and that evening, the red cross of Britain replaced the fleur-de-lis at the Place
d'Armes

September 7 1940, what came to be called simply "The Blitz" began when London suffered the first
concentrated night air raid of German planes during the Second World War. In the first three nights, one-
thousand people were killed and 35-hundred seriously injured. The R-A-F prevented invasion during
1940, but the civilian population had to undergo years of bombing before the tide turned.

September 6 1990, in one of Canada's most political upsets, Ontario voters elected a majority N-D-P
government, making Bob Rae the first New Democratic premier of the province. It was a humiliating loss
for Liberal Premier David Peterson, who had called the election only three years into his term.
Exactly one year after his surprise win, Rae went back on an election promise and dropped plans for a
government-run auto insurance program. He said it would cost too much money and too many jobs during
a recession

September 5 1945, Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko defected from the Soviet embassy in Ottawa. He
took with him documents that revealed a network of espionage agents in Canada. Gouzenko's defection
resulted in 20 espionage trials and nine convictions. Gouzenko remained in Canada under an assumed
name until his death in 1982.

September 4 1984, Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservatives to the largest victory ever claimed
by a federal party. The Tories swept 212 of the 282 Commons seats, defeating the Liberals under Prime
Minister John Turner and the New Democrats under Ed Broadbent. In 1988, against the same opponents,
Prime Minister Mulroney won a second majority government.

September 3 1939, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany, two days after its invasion of
Poland. Winston Churchill was named First Lord of the Admiralty in the British war cabinet. In Canada,
police began rounding up known and suspected Nazis and placing them in custody.

September 2 1904, one of the most remarkable feats of seamanship ended when
Captain John Claus Voss of Victoria, B-C arrived in England in a Nootkan Indian dugout
canoe. Voss took three years, three months and 12 days to cover 64-thousand
kilometres, almost circling the globe, solely under sail. The canoe -- the ìTilicumí -- is on
exhibit in the B-C capital.

September 1 1864, five delegates each from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island met at Charlottetown to discuss political union of the three maritime
regions. Interest in the Charlottetown conference was increased by the presence of
representatives from the government of Canada. The meeting blossomed into the
Quebec conference one month later.

August 31 1981, Clifford Robert Olson of Burnaby, B-C was charged in the deaths of nine children
and teens. He would eventually be charged with killing 11 of boys and girls aged nine to 18. Police made
a deal with Olson to lead them to the bodies and other evidence, in exchange for a 100-thousand-dollar
trust fund for his wife and infant son. The agreement caused outrage, especially from the families of the
victims. In 1982, Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment
with no chance of parole for 25 years.

August 30 1987, Canadian Ben Johnson became the fastest man in the world when he smashed the
world record for the 100-metre dash, at the world track and field championships in Rome. Johnson's time
of 9.83 seconds cut one-tenth of a second from the previous record. A year later, Johnson was stripped of
his gold medal for the same event -- with a time of 9.79 seconds -- at the Seoul Olympics after testing
positive for steroid use.

August 29 1907, the Quebec Bridge on the St. Lawrence River collapsed and carried 75 workmen to
their deaths. The bridge was rebuilt but in 1916, the centre span fell into the river, killing 13 people.
When it was completed in September 1917, the Quebec Bridge was the largest bridge in the world. Some
engineers wear a ring on their baby finger in memory of those who died building the Quebec Bridge.

August 28 1861, William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto's first mayor and the leader in the Upper Canada
rebellion of 1837, died at age 66. He was a sworn foe of the powerful Family Compact, a group of rich
settlers who held the reins of power in the colony. After three years as a member of the legislature in
Upper Canada, Mackenzie was expelled and not allowed to resume his seat, although his constituents re-
elected him five times.

August 27 1758, Fort Frontenac -- now Kingston, Ontario -- was captured and destroyed by the British.
The site of the present city was picked by Lasalle in 1673, and the explorer was named commandant of the
French camp. Later, the site was occupied by United Empire Loyalists from New York State and renamed
Kingston. It later became the chief naval base of Ontario.

August 26 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote.
Women in Canada were granted the right to vote in 1917 as a result of their participation in the First World
War

August 25 1944, Allied forces liberated Paris, ending four years of German occupation. Major
General Dietrich von Choltitz had defied Adolf Hitler's order to level the French capital rather than give it
up. The surrender set off wild celebrations in the streets.

August 24 1791, the British Parliament passed the Constitutional Act. It divided Canada into two
provinces, each with its own lieutenant-governor and legislature. The Act was made necessary by the
influx of United Empire Loyalists after the American Revolution. The new settlers did not want to live
under French law or the Roman Catholic church. In order to help the Protestants, the Act provided that
every eighth acre of land should be set aside to provide revenue for the clergy -- the "clergy reserves."

August 23 1939, Hitler and Stalin signed a non-agression pact giving Germany half of Poland and a
free hand in the Balkans. The Soviet Union got the other half of Poland and, eventually, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania and part of Romania. The so-called "Devil's Pact" set the stage for the Second World War. A
week later, Germany invaded Poland.

August 22 1827, industrialist Ezra Butler Eddy was born in Vermont. E.B. Eddy, who became known
as the matchmaker of the world, moved his small friction-match factory from Burlington, Vermont to Hull,
Quebec in 1851. He expanded, modernized and diversified to produce a variety of wood and paper
products. Eddy was also a politician -- he was elected mayor of Hull six times and was a member of the
Quebec legislature for six years. He died in 1906 and is buried in Bristol, Vermont.

August 21 1940, Leon Trotsky, one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution, died in Mexico City. He
was struck down the day before by an assassin wielding an ice-pick. Following the death of Lenin in 1924,
a rivalry between Trotsky and Stalin became acute and in 1929 Trotsky was exiled to Turkestan. He was
later deported and took up residence in Constantinople before seeking asylum in Mexico.

August 20 1912, General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, died after a lifetime of
Christian work among the poorest and most destitute people in Britain. Booth and his helpers worked to
bring Christianity into the places which the regular churches could scarcely touch. The Army, in spite of
opposition to its beginnings, later met with sustained success and spread throughout the world.

August 19 1942, five-thousand Canadian troops, supported by the British, carried out the infamous
Dieppe raid. The disastrous raid was termed "a dress rehearsal" for the invasion of France and the
establishment of the second front. For Canada, it was the costliest day of the Second World War. Only 22-
hundred Canadians returned to England, about 900 were killed and nearly two-thousand more were taken
prisoner.

August 18 1991, Soviet hardliners launched a coup aimed at toppling President Mikhail Gorbachev.
A delegation arrived at Gorbachev's vacation spot in the Crimea to demand the Soviet leader's resignation -
- he defiantly refused. Gorbachev and members of his family remained effectively imprisoned until the
coup collapsed three days later.

August 17 1896, the discovery that led to the Klondike gold rush was made. When news of the rich
new strike reached the outside world, a rush began. In two years, Dawson grew from a few houses to a
community of 25-thousand. Within three years, all important creeks in the Klondike valley had been
staked out by the gold-seekers. Total value of gold production in the eight years after the find exceeded
100-million dollars.

August 16 1812, British General Sir Isaac Brock, together with Indian allies, attacked and captured
Detroit, along with General William Hull and his army. Hull, with more than two-thousand men, had
retired to Fort Detroit after a failed invasion of Upper Canada. Brock took the offensive with about 13-
hundred men and forced Hull to surrender. Brock was knighted for the attack. However, news of the
award did not reach Canada until after Brock's death at the Battle of Queenston Heights in October, 1812.

August 15 1940, the German Luftwaffe suffered its greatest losses for a single day during the Battle of
Britain. Seventy-five of about one-thousand German aircraft raiding Britain were shot. The Royal Air
Force lost about 35 aircraft.

August 14 1945, the Second World War came to an end with V-J Day -- Victory in Japan Day. U-S
President Harry Truman announced that Japan had unconditionally surrendered. Capitulation came several
days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and after Emperor Hirohito called upon
Japan's war council to give up. The last shot in the war came the same day, when a U-S submarine sank a
Japanese frigate.

August 13 1961, the city of Berlin was divided by a concrete wall as East Germany sealed off the border between
the Eastern and Western sectors, in a move to control emmigration to the West. The wall snaked 166
kilometres around the enclave of West Berlin and was backed by floodlights, barbed wire, tripwires,
minefields and scattered guns. On November 9th, 1989, East German authorities unexpectedly opened the
borders. The wall was then dismantled in sections.

August 12 1992, after 14 months of negotiations, Canada, the U-S and Mexico announced they had
concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement. When the continental trade deal took effect in
1994, it created the world's largest trading bloc

August 11 1986, 115 Tamil refugees were found drifting in lifeboats off the coast of Newfoundland.
Rescued by Canadian fishermen, the group first claimed they had departed from India, but later admitted
paying a West German ship captain to transport them to Canada. They were allowed to stay in Canada for
at least one year, a move that angered other immigrants who followed proper prodecures.

August 10 1960, the Canadian Bill of Rights became law. The document applies only to federal law
because provincial consent was not obtained. It recognizes the rights of individuals to life, liberty, personal
security and enjoyment of property. It also protects rights to equality before the law and freedoms of
speech, religion, assembly and association and the press. The Bill of Rights remains in effect to the extent
it is not superseded by the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

August 9 1945, the United States dropped its second atomic bomb on Japan, destroying part of the city
of Nagasaki. An estimated 74-thousand people died from the blast and its after-effects.

August 8 1974, U-S President Richard Nixon announced his resignation, effective noon the following
day. Nixon's decision to resign followed further erosion of his remaining support in the wake of new
revelations connected to the Watergate scandal.

August 7 1679, the first ship to sail the Upper Great Lakes, the "Griffon," was launched. The vessel
was built at Niagara for Cavalier De La Salle. She sailed on her maiden voyage on August 27th. On
September 18th, laden with furs, she sailed from Green Bay on Lake Michigan and was never seen again.
Various wrecks have been examined without positive proof that the ìGriffoní has been found.

August 6 1945, an American B-29 bomber, the "Enola Gay," dropped an atomic bomb weighing
nearly 41-hundred kilograms on Hiroshima, Japan. An estimated 140-thousand people were killed.

August 5 1689, Iroquois Indians sought revenge at Lachine, Quebec. The origins of the attack went
back two years, when 50 Iroquois were captured and sent to France as galley slaves. Fifteen-hundred
Iroquois descended on Lachine in the early hours of August 5th, killing dozens of settlers and taking about
100 prisoners, who were tortured to death. Troops were not dispatched because they were needed to guard
Montreal.

August 4 1944, Nazi police raided the secret annex of a house in Amsterdam and arrested eight
people, including 14-year-old Anne Frank. A diary kept by Anne while she hid gained international fame
years after her death in a concentration camp.

August 3 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain with three ships -- the "Nina," the
"Pinta" and the "Santa Maria" -- on a voyage that would take him to the New World. The trip by the
Italian explorer was financed by the king and queen of Spain.

August 2 1990, Iraq invaded the tiny oil-rich emirate of Kuwait in a disagreement over oil
overproduction. The United Nations condemned the action and demanded Iraq withdraw unconditionally
from Kuwait. When Iraq failed to comply, sanctions were imposed, sparking an international crisis. In
January 1991, the United States began aerial bombing of the Iraqi capital. A ceasefire was reached a
month later, bringing an end to the war in the Persian Gulf.

August 1 1834, slavery was abolished in all British possessions, 30 years before it was outlawed in the
United States. The opening up of the West Indies and the southern states had made the slave trade a
lucrative enterprise. Slaves weren't freed in the U-S until 1865, after the Union victory in the Civil War.

July 31 1987, tornadoes cut a path of destruction through Edmonton and its suburbs during
afternoon rush hour. The twisters claimed 27 lives and injured at least 250 people. Damage was estimated
at 150-million dollars. Most of the dead and injured were residents of a trailer park.

July 30 1962, the Trans-Canada Highway was officially opened at Rogers Pass, B-C. Nearly eight-
thousand kilometres long, it is the longest national highway in the world. The target for completion was
1956, but task proved more difficult than anticipated. The Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1970.

July 29 1874, social reformer J.S. Woodsworth was born near Islington, Ontario. A Methodist
minister for nearly 20 years, he left the church because of its attitudes toward war and social reform. He
went into Parliament and helped bring about the pension legislation in 1926. A few years, later he became
the leader of the C-C-F Party, forerunner of the New Democratic Party. Woodsworth left the party in 1939
when he refused to vote for the declaration of war on Germany

July 28 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia, beginning the First World War. Britain subsequently
declared war on Germany and Austro-Hungary. Britain's declaration automatically included Canada, as
part of the British Empire. Canadian casualties numbered about 68-thousand and the conscription crisis
created a longrunning rift between French and English.

July 27 1921, insulin was isolated for the first time by Dr. Frederick Banting and several colleagues
at the University of Toronto, including Dr. Charles Best. The achievement made Banting the first
Canadian to win a Nobel Prize, which he shared with Best. Insulin was immediately effective as a
lifesaving treatment for diabetes. In several magazine polls taken before he died in 1941, Banting was
judged the most famous living Canadian.

July 26 1953, a young Havana lawyer, Fidel Castro, led a group of revolutionaries in an attack on a
fortress held by army and police supporters of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Many of the attackers,
including Castro, were captured and imprisoned. Castro was later released and in 1956, he returned as
head of another insurgent group. It overthrew the Batista regime in 1959.

July 25 1956, the Italian liner "Andrea Doria" sank after it collided with the Swedish ship "Stockholm" south of
Nantucket island off the New England coast. There were more than 16-hundred people on the two ships
and because of rescuers' efforts, all but 51 people were saved.

July 24 1991, Quebec police found more than 270 barrels of hashish floating -- some in the water,
some in lifeboats -- in the St. Lawrence near Sept-Isles. Police theorized the smugglers ran into trouble
when they tried to transfer the multi-million-dollar stash from a tug onto the rafts. More than two dozen
people from Vermont, Holland and the Philipppines were arrested.

July 23 1767, the Prince Edward Island land lottery was held in London, England. The Earl of
Egmont had asked King George the Third to grant him Prince Edward Island forever. The Earl wanted to
build armed castles and moats for himself and about 400 lesser lords. Instead the land was divided up for
colonization among people who had claims for military or other public service.

July 22 1793, Alexander Mackenzie completed the first trip across North America by land when he
reached Dean Inlet on the Pacific. Mackenzie and his party had set out in May, with much of the trip done
on foot. When they reached the Bella Coola River, they traded goods for boats and paddled the rest of the
way to the sea. The party was thrilled to discover they had reached the Pacific, but a band of hostile
natives prompted a hasty retreat.

July 21 1925, the famous "monkey trial" ended in Dayton, Tennessee, as John T. Scopes was found
guilty and fined 100-dollars for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. He had been defended by famed
lawyer Clarence Darrow. The conviction was later overturned. The case was portrayed in the film "Inherit
the Wind."

July 20 1969, "Apollo 11" astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first men to set
foot on the Moon. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface at 10:56 p.m. Eastern Time and proclaimed,
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin and Armstrong collected nearly 22
kilos of lunar rock and soil. Their stay on the Moon lasted 21 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds.
American astronauts would land on the Moon five more times. (Note for trivia buffs -- Armstrong was
supposed to say, "That's one small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind.")

July 19 1848, the modern women's rights movement was launched at a convention in Seneca Falls,
New York. The meeting approved 11 resolutions, including one demanding women be given the right to
vote.

July 18 1926, Margaret Laurence was born in Neepawa, Manitoba. Her first fiction was published
when she and her husband lived in Somaliland and Ghana in the 1950's. Laurence's first major novel in a
Canadian setting was 1964's "The Stone Angel," considered a landmark of Canadian literature. It set the
town of Manawaka firmly in Canada's imaginative landscape, and was also the setting for "A Jest of God"
and "The Diviners." Margaret Laurence died January 6th, 1987.

July 17 1917, the British royal family adopted the name Windsor, giving up all German titles and
the dynastic names of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The names had been acquired through the marriage of Queen
Victoria to Prince Albert.

July 16 1945, the first atomic bomb was exploded above the desert in New Mexico. The test
remained a closely guarded secret until after the U-S goverment announced that an atomic bomb had been
dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, on August 6th. Three days later, Nagasaki was also hit with an
A-bomb

July 15 1945, cheques for some 20-million dollars were mailed out as Ottawa made its first family
allowance payments. The federal government said the money was to be used for the maintenance, care,
education and advancement of children.

July 14 1933, the Nazi party was decreed the only legal party in Germany. The proclamation paved
the way for the establishment of Adolf Hitler's totalitarian dictatorship that ruled until 1945. Hitler
enforced the party's policies of nationalism and anti-semitism through his brown-shirted storm troopers, his
elite S-S guard and the Gestapo, his secret police.

July 13 1993, Germany held a farewell ceremony for Canadian soldiers. It marked the end of the
stationing of Canadian troops in Germany after 42 years of NATO service.

July 11 1990, the siege at Oka, Quebec began. Quebec provincial police moved into remove a
barricade Mohawk Indians had set up to block expansion of a golf course on native land. The raid failed,
but an officer was shot and killed. Mohawks at Chateauguay set up a sympathy blockade at the Mercier
bridge leading into Montreal. Natives across the country set up similar blockades. As the standoff dragged
on, Premier Robert Bourassa called in the army and there were tense face-to-face confrontations between
natives and soldiers all summer. The federal government bought the disputed land for 5.2-million dollars.
But it wasn't until September 26th that the Oka warriors surrendered, after the army cut off supplies.

July 10 1993, flooding along the Mississippi and its tributaries forced more than 20-thousand
people from their homes. Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and parts of North Dakota and Nebraska were eventually
declared disaster areas. Persistent heavy rains soaked the region, leading to the worst flooding in more
than a century through the Mississippi River basin. The flooding caused 48 deaths and 10-billion dollars in
damage.

July 9 1793, slavery was abolished in Canada. Upper Canada prohibited the importation of slaves
and declared that slaves' children should be free at the age of 25. Even in other parts of Canada, where
slavery had not been abolished by law, courts refused to uphold it as an institution. Slavery had been
accepted by natives and the first French and English settlers, but it was outlawed by the British parliament
in 1833.

July 8 1917, Tom Thomson drowned in Algonquin Park in Ontario. Thomson was one of the most
brilliant painters in Canadian art history. His oils and scenes of desolate northern landscape are among the
best known works in Canada.

July 7 1787, the first white woman arrived in what is now British Columbia. Frances Barkley was
the 17-year-old wife of the captain of the British ship "Imperial Eagle." The Indians of Nootka, Vancouver
Island, had never seen a white woman before and were amazed by Frances.

July 6 1988, 167 crew members, including two Canadians, were killed in an explosion and fire
aboard the Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea. The worst disaster of its kind to that date was blamed on a
gas leak. The rig's owner, Occidental Petroleum, later offered families of the victims compensation
totalling 180-million dollars U-S.

July 5 1993, a sweeping publication ban was imposed on the trial of Karla Homolka in the sex
slayings of two Ontario schoolgirls. Justice Fancis Kovacs barred the general public and American
reporters from the St. Catharines courtroom and banned publication of the plea and evidence from the trial.
Kovacs said the ban was needed to ensure a fair trial for Paul Bernardo, Karla's estranged husband, who
faced first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. The next day,
Homolka was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two concurrent 12-year prison terms.

July 4 1776, the Continental Congress, meeting at Philadelphia, adopted the United States
Declaration of Independence. It incorporated the Theory of Natural Rights -- stating that "all men are
created equal" -- that they possess the ìinalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

July 3 1608, the city of Quebec was founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain. It was the
first settlement in New France and for a number of years, was no more than a trading post reached only by
a perilous route. Twenty years after its founding, Quebec had about 100 inhabitants and an economy based
on farming.

July 2 1992, the federal government closed Newfoundland's northern cod fishery for two years
to protect dwindling stocks and allow it time to recover. The moratorium, which was later extended,
affected more than 19-thousand fishermen and plant workers.

July 1 1867, the British North America Act took effect, creating the Dominion of Canada out of
Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Upper Canada became Ontario and
Lower Canada became Quebec. John A. MacDonald was sworn in as the first prime minister. Although
independent of Britain, Canada was still not allowed to deal directly with other states, control immigration
or command Canadian armed forces except through British officers.

June 30 1534, Jacques Cartier landed in Canada for the first time. Cartier, seeking a northwest
passage to the Spice Islands, sailed through the Strait of Belle Isle and explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Following the coast of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, Cartier reached Gaspe

June 29 1927, France formally transferred ownership of 100 hectares of land at Vimy to Canada.
The land was the scene of one of the most celebrated battles by Canadian soldiers during the First World
War. The German bastion along Vimy Ridge was successfully assaulted by all four divisions of the
Canadian Corps on Easter 1917. The Vimy memorial consists of the Canadian land, now a park, and a
monument dedicated by King Edward the Eighth in 1936

June 28 1981, Terry Fox died of cancer at the age of 22. Fox had lost a leg to cancer before
embarking on his "Marathon Of Hope" run across Canada. He made it halfway -- to Thunder Bay,
Ontario -- before cancer struck again. Fox raised nearly 25-million dollars to fight cancer and won the
love and admiration of millions. Thousands of people take part in annual fund-raising runs across the
country -- and around the world -- named after Fox.

June 27 1759, British General James Wolfe landed his army near Quebec City and blocked the St.
Lawrence River to French shipping. After a siege lasting 75 days, the 33-year-old Wolfe led his troops up
the cliff behind Quebec City to the Plains of Abraham, where they defeated Montcalm's garrison and
captured the city. Both commanders died in battle.

June 26 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth and U-S
President Dwight Eisenhower in Montreal. In 1952, when Canada decided to build the Seaway entirely in
Canadian territory, the U-S Congress moved swiftly to make it a joint venture. The Seaway is a canal 318
kilometres long, enabling ocean freighters to travel from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes.

June 25 1950, the Korean War began when 240 North Korean tanks crossed the 38th parallel
without warning to invade South Korea. The conflict -- which ended July 27th, 1953 -- saw the forces of
the United Nations team with those of South Korea against the Chinese Communists. The bitter struggle
swept almost the entire length of the peninsula.

June 24 1813, natives and British troops ambushed an invading American force at Beaver Dams in
Upper Canada. They had been warned of the pending attack by Laura Secord, who had overheard some
American soldiers discussing the plan while dining at her house two days earlier. She walked 30
kilometres from Queenston to Beaver Dams to warn the British. Monuments to the War of 1812 heroine
stand in the Ontario communities of Lundy's Lane, Niagara Falls and Queenston Heights. The
Massachusetts-born Secord died in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1868 at age 93.

June 23 1767, the Prince Edward Island land lottery was held in London, England. The Earl of
Egmont had asked King George the Third to grant him Prince Edward Island forever. The Earl wanted to
build armed castles and moats for himself and about 400 lesser lords. Instead the land was divided up for
colonization among people who had claims for military or other public service

June 22 1976, Members of Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty. The motion carried with
just a six-vote majority. The last execution in Canada was in 1962. On June 30th, 1987, the Commons
defeated a motion to reinstate the death penalty after an eight-day debate.

June 21 1957, John Diefenbaker was sworn in as Canada's first Conservative prime minister in 22
years. The same day, 52-year-old Ellen Fairclough became Canada's first female cabinet minister when
she was sworn in as secretary of state. The Hamilton, Ontario-born accountant moved to the Immigration
department the next year and became postmaster general in 1962. She was defeated in the 1963 election

June 20 1988, Lucien Bouchard won a byelection for the Tories in Lac St. Jean. His close friend,
Prime Minister Mulroney, had made more than one-billion dollars worth of promises in the riding.
Bouchard quit the cabinet -- and the Conservative party -- following the 1990 failure of the Meech Lake
constitutional accord. He formed the Bloc Quebecois, which went on to form the Official Opposition
following the 1993 federal election.

June 19 1992, the last two Western hostages in Lebanon were freed after three years in captivity.
Henrich Struebig and Thomas Kemptner were immediately flown home to Germany. Their freedom
brought an end to a decade in which at least 92 western hostages were taken.

June 18 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by British and Prussian
troops. After escaping from exile at Elba, Napoleon marched north through France for 100 days,
gathering men and arms. The Duke of Wellington met him with a mixed allied army, and the fighting
lasted all day. French casualties were 40-thousand of 72-thousand men.

June 17 1972, police apprehended five men for attempting to bug the Democratic national
headquarters in Washington's Watergate complex. It was the beginning of a series of arrests that would
eventually force Richard Nixon from the White House.

June 16 1993, Canada's peacekeeping mission on the island of Cyprus ended. The soldiers had
handed control of the Canadian sector to British and Australian troops the previous day. The 29-year
mission had seen 35-thousand Canadian soldiers serve on the island. Twenty-eight died, most of them
accidentally.

June 15 1993, rookie Alberta Premier Ralph Klein performed a political miracle, resurrecting his
party to lead the Tories to electoral victory. It was the seventh consecutive majority win for the Alberta
Conservatives. It came after the party had trailed in opinion polls under former leader and premier Don
Getty.

June 14 1919, British pilots John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown took off from St.
John's, Newfoundland for the first non-stop transatlantic flight. They landed in a peat bog at Galway,
Ireland after flying about 31-hundred kilometres in just over 16 hours. The flight won them a 10-
thousand-dollar prize offered by the London Daily Mail, and both were awarded knighthoods.

June 13 1993, Kim Campbell was chosen to succeed Brian Mulroney as Tory leader. The rookie
M-P had held several cabinet portfolios, including Justice and Defence. On October 25th, four months to
the day after being sworn in as prime minister, Campbell and the Tories were humiliated at the polls.
They went from a substantial majority to just two seats in the Commons. On election night, Campbell,
who lost her Vancouver seat, told tearful supporters to have a good "snurf" into a tissue, then help rebuild
the party. She resigned as leader on December 13th -- exactly six months after winning the party
leadership.

June 12 1811, the Earl of Selkirk was granted 300-thousand square kilometres (116-thousand
square miles) of territory in an area now occupied by Manitoba, Minnesota and North Dakota. Selkirk
paid 10 shillings a year rent on the land, five times bigger than his native Scotland.

June 11 1917, the Conscription Act was introduced in the Commons. The election that followed
passage of the bill was one of the most divisive in Canadian history. Quebec looked on conscription as an
attempt to anglicize French-Canadians and throw them into an English war. Sir Robert Borden's coalition
government was returned and given the mandate to put conscription into effect.

June 10 1992, Canada won a contentious boundary dispute with France over waters off southern
Newfoundland. The International Court of Arbitration confined French territory to a 24-nautical-mile
patch of ocean around the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. France was also given a narrow,
200-mile-long corridor stretching south. The ruling gave France only about 18 per cent of what it was
seeking.

June 9 1991, Mount Pinatubo-- dormant for six centuries -- exploded in a tower of ash and smoke.
The eruption forced the evacuation of 20 villages within a 20-kilometre radius. Ash blanketed the Clark
Air Base, housing thousands of American military personnel. Three days later, more than 200 people
died when the volcano exploded in a burst that could be seen 100 kilometres away in Manila.

June 8 1968, James Earl Ray was arrested in London on charges in connection with the death of
civil rights leader Martin Luther King. Ray came to Toronto just four days after King's murder and lived
downtown until May 6th, before travelling to London with two forged Canadian passports. He was
sentenced to 99 years in a Tennessee prison for the murder.

June 7 1887, Wilfrid Laurier was elected leader of the federal Liberal party. The Liberals were
then in opposition, but in 1896, Laurier won a general election and remained prime minister until 1911.
Born near Montreal, Laurier was elected to the Quebec legislature at the age of 30. Three years later, he
entered the House of Commons.

June 6 1994, ceremonies involving more than 35-thousand Canadian, American, British, Dutch, Belgian,
Polish, Norwegian, Australian and New Zealand veterans marked the 50th anniversary in France.

June 5 1968, U-S Senator Robert Kennedy was shot and killed. He had just finished a speech at a
Los Angeles hotel following his surge ahead of Senator Eugene McCarthy in the Democratic presidential
primary race in California. A Jordanian, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, was charged with murder and later
convicted.

June 4 1940, the Allied military evacuation at Dunkirk, France, came to an end. British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on
the landing ground, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall
never surrender." About 337-thousand British, French and Belgium troops had been safely transported to
ports in England.

June 3 1987, Prime Minister Mulroney and the 10 provincial premiers signed the Meech Lake
Accord approving changes to the Canadian constitution. The agreement, if approved by Parliament and
all 10 provincial legislatures, would give Quebec special status within Canada and increase the powers of
the provinces

June 2 1953, Queen Elizabeth the Second was crowned. Elizabeth -- eldest daughter of King
George the Sixth, who died in 1952 -- was 26 when she took the throne. She had married Philip
Mountbatten in 1947 and at the time of her coronation had two children, Prince Charles and Princess
Anne. Her coronation was the first one to be televised.

June 1 1867, the British North America Act took effect, creating the Dominion of Canada out of
Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Upper Canada became Ontario and
Lower Canada became Quebec. John A. MacDonald was sworn in as the first prime minister. Although
independent of Britain, Canada was still not allowed to deal directly with other states, control
immigration or command Canadian armed forces except through British officers.

May 31 1988, the House of Commons passed two tough anti-smoking bills. One gave all federal
employees the right to a smoke-free workplace, the other banned almost all tobacco advertising, effective
January 1st, 1989.

May 30 1938, Toronto's "Stork Derby" came to an end. It began in 1936 when lawyer and financier
Charles Vance Miller died. A bachelor, he had willed his money to the Toronto woman who gave birth to
the most children in the 10 years following his death. Four mothers each had nine children and, after much
legal wrangling, each received 100-thousand dollars.

May 29 1987, the Reform Party of Canada was formed in Vancouver, with Preston Manning as
leader. Deborah Grey became the party's first M-P when she won a 1989 byelection in the Alberta riding of
Beaver River. In the 1993 election that saw the Conservatives all but wiped out, Manning campaigned on
the issue of fiscal responsibility. His party won 52 seats -- nearly enough to form the official Opposition.

May 28 1934, the Dionne quintuplets -- Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie -- were born
near North Bay, Ontario. At the time, they were the only quintuplets to survive more than a few days. The
Ontario government placed them in a specially-built hospital, where the children were put on public display.
More than three-million people came to watch them play behind a one-way screen. Their mother fought
nine years to regain custody, but the family reunion in 1943 was not successful.

May 27 1949, the Liberals won the first general election held in Newfoundland as a province of
Canada. Joey Smallwood -- known as the last "Father of Confederation" -- became premier and governed
until January, 1972. Smallwood remained in the legislature until retiring in 1977.

May 26 1887, the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway was opened for public traffic -- 18
months after the last spike was driven at Craigellachie, B-C. Trains had been running from Montreal to
Vancouver for a year, but passengers now could ride all the way on 47-hundred kilometres of C-P-R track

May 25 1990, Canada's first war crimes trial ended in Toronto. Imre Finta was a retired Toronto
restaurateur. He was acquitted on all counts of confinement, kidnapping, robbery and manslaughter in the
1944 deportation of 8,617 Jews.

May 24 1819, Queen Victoria was born. She would reign over the British Empire longer than any
monarch in English history -- 64 years. On the same day in 1902, Victoria Day was first observed, 16
months after Victoria's death. The holiday was observed on her birthday until 1952, when it was changed to
the first Monday preceding May 25th.

May 23 1887, the first C-P-R intercontinental passenger train arrived at the new west coast terminal.
The city of Vancouver had only been incorporated in April 1886, and was destroyed by fire two months
later. But when Engine 374 puffed in, the city had been rebuilt. The arrival of the railway helped the city
grow, with the population reaching five-thousand by the end of the year.

May 22 1216, Louis the Eighth invaded England, the last military invasion of the country.

May 21 1927, American Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field outside Paris after his
historic solo flight across the Atlantic. Lindbergh's trip from New York took 33 hours and 30 minutes in
elapsed flying time and its completion is considered one of the great milestones in aviation history.

May 20 1980, by a majority of more than 58 per cent, the people of Quebec voted "non" to a
referendum that would have allowed Quebec to negotiate sovereignty association with the rest of Canada.
The "oui" forces were led by Rene Levesque and the ìnoní by Claude Ryan. The day also marked the first
live coverage of a Canadian referendum.

May 19 1536, Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry the Eighth, was beheaded after being
convicted on charges of adultery. Henry had married Anne three years before, after a controversial divorce
from his first wife. That incident led to his excommunication from the Catholic church. Anne did not
produce the male heir Henry wanted, but she did give birth to Elizabeth, the future queen.

May 18 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state erupted. The blast took 400 metres
off the top of the mountain, left 57 people dead, devastated 190 kilometres of countryside and blew an ash
cloud around the world.

May 17 1963, Sergeant-Major Walter Leja, a Canadian army engineer, was seriously injured when a
terrorist bomb blew up in his hands in Montreal. Three days later, police arrested 20 young members of the
F-L-Q and 21-year-old Mario Bachand was sentenced to four years in prison for placing the bomb in a
mailbox.

May 16 1855, the Reciprocity Treaty between Canada and the U-S took effect. Under the treaty,
American fishermen were allowed to fish within the three-mile limit, land anywhere to cure their fish, and
have free navigation in the St. Lawrence River. In return, the U-S agreed to admit a wide range of Canadian
products duty free.

May 15 1919, the Winnipeg General Strike began and the city was paralysed for 41 days. The
Robson Commission, which later investigated the walkout by 30-thousand workers, found it had been aimed
only at improving wages and labor's bargaining position. But most government bodies feared a Bolshevik
revolution was brewing. A number of labor leaders were sent to prison under war emergency sedition laws,
which were not repealed until 1936.

May 14 1948, British rule in Palestine ended and the independent state of Israel was declared. At the
end of the Second World War, an independent state was suggested for the combined 1.5-million Palestinian
Jews, European Jews and Jews in Arab countries. In 1947, the U-N divided Palestine into a Jewish state, an
Arab state and a small international zone, which included Jerusalem. Despite Arab opposition, the state of
Israel was proclaimed.

May 13 1981, Pope John Paul the Second was shot in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet
Ali Agca. The Pope recovered from serious abdominal wounds and resumed his duties. Agca, an escaped
convict, was sentenced to life in prison.

May 12 1820, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was born. Known as the Lady
of the Lamp, Nightingale began visiting British hospitals and studying methods of training in 1844. In
1854, during the Crimean War, she assembled a hospital unit of 38 nurses and despite opposition,
established and operated hospitals.

May 11 1885, the Metis under Louis Riel were defeated by the militia at Batoche, Saskatchewan
during the Second Northwest Rebellion. Riel later gave himself up and was charged with treason. He was
executed at Regina on November 16th, 1885.

May 10 1940, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill formed a
government. Churchill's stirring oratory and his refusal to make peace until Adolph Hitler was crushed
were crucial in maintaining British and Commonwealth resistance to Germany. In 1945, Britain's desire for
rapid social reform led to a Labor Party victory and Churchill became opposition leader. He returned to
power in 1951. In 1953, Churchill received a knighthood as well as the Nobel Prize for literature.

May 9 1992, a methane gas explosion roared through the Westray coal mine in Plymouth, Nova
Scotia -- killing 26 miners. The bodies of 11 men were recovered almost immediately. A desperate but
unsuccessful search for survivors continued for six days. Rescue workers said the danger of a cave-in was
too great to continue.

May 8 1945 -- V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. The Second World War ended in Europe with the
unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces. The surrender was signed the previous day
by German envoys meeting Allied delegates in a schoolhouse at Rheims, France.

May 7 1915, the Cunard steamship "Lusitania" was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of
Ireland with the loss of nearly 12-hundred lives. U-S President Woodrow Wilson condemned the sinking,
which was instrumental in America's decision to enter the First World War.

May 6 1994, Queen Elizabeth and French President Francois Mitterrand attended ceremonies in
Calais, France, dedicating the tunnel under the English Channel linking England the France. The 20-
billion-dollar "Chunnel" was hailed as a triumph for European unity. Regular passenger service did not
begin for six months

May 5 1814, a small British and Canadian fleet destroyed the United States naval base at Oswego,
New York. The Americans were outnumbered more than two to one. The victory re-established British
control of Lake Ontario for the remainder of the War of 1812.

May 4 1992, residents of the Northwest Territories voted narrowly in favor of a move that would
re-draw the map of Canada. They endorsed partitioning the territories into two sections by the turn of the
century. Canada's third territory -- to be called Nunavut -- was to be part of a massive land-claims
settlement with Inuit in the eastern Arctic. The deal would give the Inuit title to an area more than five
times the size of Alberta.

May 3 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada greatly expanded the legal meaning of self-defence. It
ruled unanimously that a woman can use the battered wife syndrome as a defence against a murder charge.
The high court ruled Angelique Lyn Lavallee of Winnipeg was only acting in self defence when -- after
years of brutalization at the hands of her common-law husband -- she shot and killed him.

May 2 1497, Italian-born John Cabot set sail from Bristol, England to follow Columbus' route to
what he thought was Asia. The expedition reached land June 24th, probably at Cape Breton, and cruised
along the south coast of Newfoundland. Cabot made a second voyage the following year, exploring from
Greenland to the Delaware River.

May 1 1960, an American U-2 reconnaissance plane carrying cameras and other intelligence
equipment was shot down over the Soviet Union. Pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured in what came to
be known as the U-S incident. President Eisenhower admitted responsibility but said he had not authorized
the mission. Powers pleaded guilty to charges of spying and was imprisoned. He was exchanged in 1962
for Colonel Rudolph Abel, a Soviet spy convicted in New York in 1957.

April 30 1987, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the premiers reached an agreement that would enable Quebec
to join the constitutional fold. Named after the government retreat where the deal was struck, the Meech
Lake accord would, among other things, recognize Quebec as a distinct society. To become law, the accord
had to be ratified by Parliament and all provincial legislatures by June 23rd, 1990. But Meech Lake died
when Manitoba and Newfoundland failed to give their legislative approval.

April 29 1992, Los Angeles saw the start of deadly rioting that claimed 55 lives and caused one-
billion dollars in damage. The riots came after a jury in Simi Valley acquitted four white Los Angeles
police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King. Two
officers were later convicted on federal charges.

April 28 1789, the mutiny on the "Bounty" occurred when Captain William Bligh was cast adrift with
18 loyal crewmen by mutineers, led by the ship's mate, Fletcher Christian. The mutineers settled on Pitcairn
Island. The Bligh party sailed 64-hundred kilometres in their open boat to Timor, where they were rescued.

April 27 1813, a force of 18-hundred Americans landed at York, now Toronto, and the outnumbered
British garrison withdrew. The town was sacked and the parliament buildings were burned down. In
retaliation for this action and the destruction of Newark, now Niagara-on-the-Lake, the British raided
Buffalo and Washington, and set fire to the White House.

April 26 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet
Union. An experiment went awry, causing an explosion and fire that sent radioactivity into the atmosphere.
Forty-thousand people were forced from the area and at least 31 died as a result of the acident. The outside
world was not aware of the accident until April 28th, when Scandinavian technicians detected abnormally
high radiation levels.

April 25 1849, Lord Elgin signed the Rebellion Losses Bill, providing payment for people who lost
property in the rebellions of 1837-1838. Elgin's signature enraged English Quebecers, who were furious the
Queen's representative would sign a bill rewarding treason. Rioting broke out and the Parliament buildings
were burned down. Lord Elgin was almost killed, but he could not call out troops to quell riots because
they were British, and could not interfere in a Canadian civil matter.

April 24 1986, the Duchess of Windsor died in Paris at age 89. King Edward the Eighth abdicated
less than a year after acceding the throne in 1936, to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. He told the
people of Britain he could not go on without the "woman I love". He was granted the title Duke of
Windsor. The Duke of Windsor died in 1972.

April 23 1978, British scientists Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe announced they had successfully
carried out the first documented "test tube" pregnancy. Englishwoman Lesley Brown had become pregnant
in November 1977 through in vitro fertilization. The process involves fertilizing an egg outside the
mother's body, then implanting the embryo in her womb. Louise Brown arrived on born July 25th, 1978.

April 22 1509, Henry the Eighth ascended the throne of England. He would reign until his death in
1547, marrying six times and beheading two of those wives. Under his rule, England broke with Rome and
the King became the head of the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth the First was Henry's daughter by
Anne Boleyn.

April 21 1981 Yours truly, THE GREAT RETACKY, was born on this date, yes yes, I was.... Today is a good day, a very good day!!! Happy B-DAY ME!

April 20 1534, Jacques Cartier left St. Malo on his first voyage to Canada. He made the crossing to
Newfoundland in just 20 days. Cartier explored the Strait of Belle Isle, which he hoped was the beginning
of a river leading to China. But after exploring the desolate Labrador coast, Cartier wrote in his diary, "I
believe that this was the land God allotted to Cain".

April 19 1993, 80 Branch Davidian cult members and their leader, David Koresh, died in a fire that
broke out when federal officers tried to end a 51-day seige at the compound in Waco, Texas. Also, on this
day in 1995, 168 people were killed and hundreds injured when an Oklahoma City federal building was
bombed. It's believed the date of the Oklahoma City bombing was picked to coincide with the anniversary
of the tragedy at Waco, which some U-S militia groups blame on the federal government.

April 18 1906, a devastating earthquake measuring an estimated 8.3 on the Richter scale struck San
Francisco. The quake and ensuing fires killed an estimated four-thousand people and caused 500-million
dollars damage.

April 17 1982, Queen Elizabeth signed the royal proclamation of Canada's constitution in a ceremony on
Parliament Hill. Exactly three years later, section 15 of the Charter of Rights, the equality rights guarantee,
was proclaimed.

April 16 1542, the Sieur de Roberval, France's first viceroy in Canada, sailed for the New World with
three ships and 200 colonists. He explored the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal Island, searching for the
legendary kingdom of Saguenay. The expedition was a failure and its survivors returned to France in 1543

April 15 1841, one of Canada's most prominent gentleman entrepreneurs, Joseph Seagram, was born
near what is now Cambridge, Ontario. He founded Seagram's, which went on to become a leading producer
of wine and liquor. Seagram, who died in 1919, was also the owner and breeder of 15 consecutive King's or
Queen's Plate winners.

April 14 1992, in a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court said David Milgaard's 1970 murder
conviction should be quashed and he be given a new trial. The court cited new evidence in the death of
Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller for its decision. Milgaard walked out of a Manitoba prison two days
later, after the Saskatchewan government decided not to have another trial. But it said he would receive no
compensation because the high court did not rule he was either innocent or a victim of a miscarriage of
justice

April 13 1990, the Soviet Union admitted responsibility for the massacre of thousands of Polish
soldiers in the Katyn Forest. The Tass news agency cited recently discovered documents. Just under 15-
thousand Polish officers were handed over to Stalin's secret police in April and May of 1940. There was no
further record of them. In 1943, the Nazis announced the discovery of more than three-thousand graves at
Katyn, and the Soviets blamed the Nazis for the slaughter.

April 12 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel in space, orbiting Earth
once before the "Vostok One" made a safe re-entry 89 minutes later. Seven years later, Gagarin died in an
accident during a routine training mission.

April 11 On this day in 1951, police recovered the Stone of Scone, which had been stolen from Westminster Abbey
on Christmas Day, 1950. The 220-kilogram stone had been part of the coronation ceremonies for British
monarchs since it was brought to London in 1296. It was stolen by students to direct attention to their cause
of establishing an autonomous parliament in Scotland.

April 10 On this date in 1912, the "Titanic" set sail from Southampton, England on its ill-fated maiden voyage. On
the night of April 14th, the luxury liner struck an iceberg about 150 kilometres south of Newfoundland's
Grand Banks and sank wihin hours. More than 15-hundred people perished. The catastrophe prompted
measures to improve safety at sea -- particularly the establishment of a patrol to make known the location of
icebergs.

April 9 1917, Canadian troops in the First World War captured Vimy Ridge. Led by Lieutenant-
General Julian Byng, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps succeeded where the French and British had
earlier failed. By April 14th, the Corps had gained more ground, guns and prisoners than any previous
British offensive. They were recognized, by the Allies and Germans, as an elite force.

April 8 1893, Mary Pickford, winner of one of the first Academy Awards and known as “America's
Sweetheart”, was born in Toronto. Pickford made her theatrical debut in 1898 at the Silver King in
Toronto. She went on to star in such classic silent films as “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” and “Little Lord
Fauntleroy”. In 1919, Pickford and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks -- along with Charlie Chaplin and
director D.W. Griffith -- set up the United Artists Corporation. Pickford died in 1979.

April 7 1868, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the most brilliant orators in Canadian parliamentary
history, was assassinated in Ottawa by the Fenian Brotherhood. A Father of Confederation, the Irish-born
McGee was elected to the Commons in 1867. He denounced the Fenians, a militant Irish-American group
dedicated to securing Irish independence.

April 6 1909, the North Pole was reached by American Robert Peary. He began the journey, his
sixth attempt to reach the Pole, at Ellesmere Island in the Arctic and was joined later by aide Mathew
Henson and four Inuit. They spent nearly 30 hours at the spot scores of explorers had sought to reach.
Peary's claim to be the first explorer to reach the Pole is still disputed. Some believe lesser-known explorer
F.A. Cook reached the pole a year earlier.

April 5 1992, the Congregation of Christian Brothers formally apologized to
victims of physical and sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John's. The
apology came nearly two decades after boys first complained of abuse. The
Congregation also ordered the 94-year-old Newfoundland institution to be razed, with
proceeds to be used to aid victims.

April 4 1968, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior was shot to
death in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. Following news of King's death, riots
broke out in 26 American cities. King was an ordained Baptist minister, whose work for
civil rights brought him the Nobel Peace prize in 1964.

April 3 1992, the Congregation of Christian Brothers formally apologized to
victims of physical and sexual abuse at the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John's. The
apology came nearly two decades after boys first complained of abuse. The
Congregation also ordered the 94-year-old Newfoundland institution to be razed, with
proceeds to be used to aid victims.

April 2 1992, the worst racetrack fire in Canadian history killed 69 horses at the Mohawk
Raceway near Guelph, Ontario. The horses were worth an estimated two-million dollars.

April 1 1942, gasoline rationing went into effect and Canadians first became acquainted with
ration books. A national speed limit of 64 kilometres (40 miles) an hour was proclaimed. Food ration
cards were issued later in the year. Official rationing remained in effect for five years.

March 31 1949, Newfoundland -- the oldest Dominion in the British Commonwealth -- became
Canada's 10th province, 82 years after Confederation. Two referendums were held after the Second World
War, and both were close. Joey Smallwood, who had led the drive for joining Canada, became
Newfoundland's first premier. Often called Canada's only living father of Confederation, Smallwood was
premier until 1972 and died in 1991.

March 30 1981, U-S President Ronald Reagan was shot by 25-year-old John Hinckley in Washington.
Hinckley said he did it to attract the attention of actress Jodie Foster. Also shot were press secretary Jim
Brady and two security officers -- they also survived.

March 29 1993, Catherine Callbeck became Canada's first woman to be elected premier. Callbeck
and her Prince Edward Island Liberals won 31 of 32 seats in the legislature. The lone opposition victory
went to another woman, Tory leader Pat Mella.

March 28 1944, humorist Stephen Leacock died in Toronto at age 74. A pioneer political economist
in Canada, he was also a historian of early Canada and the British Empire. But Leacock is best
remembered for his humorous books -- including "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town" and "Arcadian
Adventures with the Idle Rich."

March 27 1834, William Lyon Mackenzie was elected first mayor of Toronto, the capital of Upper
Canada. The city then had fewer than 10-thousand people. Mackenzie was a leader of reform movement
against the Tory "Family Compact" of rich families who ruled the province. In 1837, Mackenzie led an
unsuccessful rebellion against the lieutenant-governor.

March 26 1921, the racing schooner "Bluenose" was launched at Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. Captained
by Angus Walters, she raced five times for the North Atlantic fishermen's championships and was never
beaten. The "Bluenose" was also a fishing boat. She returned from her first trip to the Grand Banks as
highliner of the Lunenberg fleet, having caught more than the other ships. Sold during the Second World
War, the "Bluenose" was wrecked near Haiti in 1946. The schooner -- a member of Canada's Sports Hall
of Fame -- is commemorated on the Canadian dime.

March 25 1905, Britain and the U-S established the Canada-Alaska Boundary. U-S President
Theodore Roosevelt told the British government the boundary must be fixed the way the U-S wanted or
troops would be sent to enforce it. Canada was left out of the talks and ended up with no seaports in
northern B-C or the Yukon. As a result, Ottawa decided Canada must handle its own foreign affairs and
the External Affairs Department was created in 1909.

March 24 1921, the first female cabinet minister in the British Empire was sworn in. Mary Ellen
Smith became a minister without portfolio in B-C. Smith won a January, 1918 Vancouver byelection
following the death of her husband Ralph, the finance minister in the Liberal government. Re-elected in
1920 and '24, Smith served in cabinet until November, 1921.
And on this date in 1890, Agnes Macphail -- Canada's first female M-P -- was born. She was elected in
1921, the first federal election in which women had the vote. Macphail died in Toronto in 1954.

March 23 1752, Canada's first newspaper and first advertising medium, the ìHalifax Gazette,í was
established. The venture was launched by John Bushell. He was a colleague of Bartholemew Green
Junior, who established the first printing office in Halifax but died before he could produce a newspaper.
The ìGazetteí lasted until 1766, when it was suspended for criticizing the Stamp Act. It was replaced by
the "Nova Scotia Gazette."

March 22 1990, "Exxon Valdez" captain Joseph Hazelwood was acquitted of being drunk and reckless during the
worst oil spill in North American history. Nearly 41-million litres of oil were spilled into Alaska's Prince
William Sound in March, 1989. Hazelwood was convicted of a minor charge of negligent discharge of oil
and sentenced to pay 50-thousand dollars U-S.

March 21 1942, James Woodsworth, first leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, died.
A Methodist minister and ardent social democrat, Woodsworth founded the Manitoba Independent Labor
Party in 1919. He pushed Prime Minister Mackenzie King to enact an old-age pension plan, which became
the cornerstone of Canada's social security system. As leader of the C-C-F, now the N-D-P, Woodsworth
tried to persuade Ottawa to declare neutrality during the Second World War.

March 20 1907, author Hugh MacLennan was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. A Rhodes scholar,
MacLennan was widely hailed as the first major English-speaking writer to attempt a portrayal of Canada's
national character. He won the Governor-General's award five times -- three times for fiction, and twice
for non-fiction. His works include "Two Solitudes" and "The Watch that Ends the Night."

March 19 1986, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, known
affectionately as Fergie. The ensuing marriage started off like a fairy tale and the couple had two
daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. But marital bliss proved fleeting. In 1992 -- six years to the day after
their engagement was announced -- the Palace announced Andrew and Sarah had formally agreed to
separate. Royal watchers said Fergie became frustrated by the constraints of royal life.